Bustling Hamburg masks
German economic unease

By

Peter S. Goodman The Washington Post

Updated Dec. 29, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

HAMBURG, Germany -- The view across the bustling port of this northern German city suggests Europe's largest economy must be growing more prosperous. Cranes load and unload shipping containers, part of a flow of commerce that has made Germany the world's leading exporter, amassing a $200 billion trade surplus. Large German firms are counting strong profits.

But national unemployment sits above 10%, and the economy will have grown by 1% this year, according to German research institutes. Consumer spending accounts for...